Porsche · 1976–1988

Porsche 924

The Porsche 924 is a sports car produced by Porsche in Neckarsulm, Germany, from 1976 until 1988. A two-door, 2+2 coupé, the 924 replaced the 912E and 914 as the company's entry-level model. Although the 928 was designed first, the 924 was the first production road-going Porsche to use water cooling and a front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout. It was also the first Porsche to be offered with a conventional fully automatic transmission. Like the 914, the 924 began as a joint venture with Volkswagen (VW). Although VW canceled plans to sell a version under its own nameplate, opting to market the independently-developed Scirocco instead, the 924 was assembled in a VW-operated plant and initially used a VW engine. The 924 made its public debut in November 1975, and a turbocharged version was introduced in 1978. In response to increasing competition, Porsche introduced an upgraded version with a new Porsche-built engine as the 944, which replaced the 924 in the U.S. in 1983. In 1985, VW discontinued the engine used in the 924, prompting Porsche to use a slightly detuned 944 engine instead, drop the Turbo model, rename the vehicle as the 924S, and reintroduce it in the U.S. The 924 was a sales success, with just over 150,000 produced.

Text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Predecessor: Porsche 914 · Successor: Porsche 944

All Porsche 924 data: UK builds, safety, recalls, model years →

History

The 924 was originally a joint project of Volkswagen and Porsche created by the Vertriebsgesellschaft (VG), the joint sales and marketing company funded by Porsche and VW to market and sell sports cars (Ludvigsen: Porsche, Excellence was Expected). For Volkswagen, it was intended to be that company's flagship coupé sports car, and was dubbed "Project 425" during its development. For Porsche, it was to be its entry-level sports car, replacing the 914. At the time, Volkswagen lacked a significant internal research and design division for developing sports cars; further, Porsche had been doing the bulk of the company's development work anyway, per a deal that went back to the 1940s. In keeping with this history, Porsche was contracted to develop a new sporting vehicle, with the caveat that this vehicle must work with an existing VW/Audi straight-four engine. Porsche chose a rear-wheel drive layout and a rear-mounted transaxle for the design to help provide 48/52 front/rear weight distribution; this slight rear weight bias aided both traction and brake balance. The 1973 oil crisis, a series of automobile-related regulatory changes enacted during the 1970s, and a change of directors at Volkswagen made the case for a VW sports car less striking, and the 425 project was put on hold. After serious deliberation at VW, the project was scrapped entirely after a decision was made to move forward with the cheaper, more practical Golf-based Scirocco instead. Porsche, which needed a model to replace the 914, made a deal with Volkswagen leadership to buy the design back. The 914 was discontinued before the 924 entered production, which resulted in the reintroduction of the Porsche 912 to the North American market as the 912E for one year to fill the gap. The deal specified that the car

924 Turbo

Porsche executives soon recognised the need for a higher-performance version of the 924 that could take advantage of the model's excellent balance and bridge the gap between the standard 924 and the 911. Having already found the benefits of turbochargers on several race cars and the 1975 911 Turbo (930), Porsche chose to use this technology for the 924, eventually introducing the 924 Turbo in 1978. On release, the 924 Turbo was met with high praise from the automotive community and journalists alike. It was celebrated for its performance and handling, with build quality and more purposeful aesthetics garnering universal approval. Some criticised the turbocharged four-cylinder for its coarseness, but critics forgave it in exchange for its economy and remarkable power increase over the naturally-aspirated car. In their comparison against the Aston Martin V8, Porsche 928, Porsche 911 3.0SC, BMW 635 CSI and Lotus Éclat 523, Motor magazine found the 924 Turbo to be joint second in top speed (achieving an average of 142 mph) and second in 0-60 mph acceleration (achieving a time of 6.9 seconds), being topped only by the Aston V8 at 145 mph and Porsche 911 at 6.5 seconds, respectively, a remarkable feat considering the difference in displacement and price between the models. To power the 924 Turbo, Porsche heavily revised the VW EA831 2.0 L I4 motor already used in the naturally aspirated 924, opting to hand assemble the engine at the Porsche factory in Zuffenhausen, Stuttgart. Porsche engineers designed and equipped it with a revised crankcase, connecting rods, cylinder-head gasket, crankshaft and a new aluminium-silicon alloy cylinder head. With the use of dished combustion chambers and specially shaped pistons, the compression ratio was reduced to 7.5:1, which helped better

924S

In 1984, Volkswagen decided to stop manufacturing the engine blocks used in the 2.0 L 924, leaving Porsche with a predicament. The 924 was considerably cheaper than its 944 stablemate, and dropping the model left Porsche without an affordable entry-level option. The decision was made to equip the narrower bodied 924 with a slightly detuned version of the 944's 163 bhp 2.5 litre straight four, upgrading the suspension and adding five-lug wheels and 944 style brakes, but retaining the 924's early interior. The result was 1986's 148 bhp 924S. Porsche also decided to re-introduce the 924 to the American market with an initial price tag of under $20,000. In 1988, the 924S's final year of production, power increased to 158 PS (116 kW; 156 bhp), matching that of the previous year's Le Mans spec cars and the base model 944 (itself detuned by 3 PS (2 kW; 3 bhp) for 1988). This was achieved using different pistons which raised the S's compression ratio from 9.7:1 to 10.2:1, the knock-on effect being an increase in the octane rating, up from 91 RON to 95. This made the 924S slightly faster than the base 944 due to its lighter weight and more aerodynamic body. The 1988 model also gained three-point safety belts in the rear seats. With unfavourable exchange rates in the late 1980s, Porsche decided to focus its efforts on its more upmarket models, dropping the 924S for 1989 and the base 944 later that same year.

Motorsport

The 924 has its own racing series in the UK, run by the British Racing and Sports Car Club and the Porsche Racing Drivers Association. The Porsche 924 Championship was started in 1992 by Jeff May, who was championship coordinator until his death on 10 November 2003. Jeff May was also one of the founding members of Porsche Club Great Britain. In the United States, the 924S is also eligible to race in the 944-Spec racing class.

Sections adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0); text is shortened. Read the full article for the complete history and citations.

Specifications

name: Porsche 924
Designer: Harm Lagaay (Porsche AG)
Manufacturer: Porsche AG
Production: 1976–1988
Assembly: Germany: Neckarsulm, Stuttgart
Class: Sports car
Layout: Front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout
Body style: 2-door 2+2 coupé
Engine: 2.0 L VW EA831 I4, 2.0 L VW EA831 turbo I4, 2.5 L M44/40 I4
Transmission: 3-speed automatic, 4-speed manual, 5-speed Getrag manual
Length: 4200 mm
Wheelbase: 2400 mm
Width: 1685 mm
Height: 1270 mm
Kerb weight: 1242 kg
Predecessor: Porsche 914
Successor: Porsche 944

Specification summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Measured facts from Wikidata (CC0). Check the linked sources for citations.

More photos

Sources

Wikidata — https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q615865CC0 1.0 · retrieved 2026-10-01
Wikipedia — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porsche_924CC BY-SA 4.0 · Text © Wikipedia contributors; revision 1377106661 · retrieved 2026-10-01
Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Porsche_924_Le_Mans_1980_(01).jpgCC BY-SA 4.0 · Photo: Zoltán Krepsz · retrieved 2026-10-01
Car Model Index — https://models.autoculturesociety.com/Compiled record. Sources that do not permit reuse are not copied; this index is credited instead.